_The Confutatio Pontificia:
In Reference To The Matters Presented To His Imperial Majesty
By The Elector Of Saxony And Some Princes And States Of The
Holy Roman Empire, On The Subject And Concerning Causes
Pertaining To The Christian Orthodox Faith, The Following
Christian Reply Can Be Given._ August 3, 1530.
Edited by J.M. Reu.
Published in
_The Augsburg Confession, A Collection of Sources._
(Fort Wayne, IN: Concordia Theological Seminary Press),
pp. 349-383.
V. Of the Distinction of Meats.
What they afterwards assert concerning the distinction of
meats and like traditions, of which they seem to make no
account, must be rejected. For we know from the apostle that
all power is of God, and especially that ecclesiastical power
has been given by God for edification: for this reason, from
the Christian and devout heart of the holy Church the
constitutions of the same holy, catholic and apostolic Church
should be received as are useful to the Church, as well for
promoting divine worship as for restraining the lust of the
flesh, while they enable us the more readily to keep the
divine commands, and when well considered are found in the
Holy Scriptures; and he who despises or rashly resists them
grievously offends God, according to Christ's word: "He that
heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you,
despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth Him that
sent me." Luke 10:16. A prelate, however, is despised when
his statutes are despised, according to St. Paul, not only
when he says: "He that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God,
who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit," 1 Thess. 4:8,
but also to the bishops: "Take heed, therefore, unto
yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost
hath made you overseers, to rule (Vulgate) the Church of
God," Acts 20:28. If prelates, therefore, have the power to
rule, they will have the power also to make statutes for the
salutary government of the Church and the growth of subjects.
For the same apostle enjoined upon the Corinthians that among
them all things should be done in order, 1 Cor. 14:40; but
this cannot be done without laws. On that account he said to
the Hebrews: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and
submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they
that must give an account," Heb. 13:17. Here St. Paul reckons
not only obedience, but also the reason for obedience. We see
that St. Paul exercised this power, as, in addition to the
Gospel, he prescribed so many laws concerning the choice of a
bishop, concerning widows, concerning women, that they have
their heads veiled, that they be silent in the church, and
concerning even secular matters, 1 Thess. 4:1, 2, 6;
concerning civil courts, 1 Cor. 6:1ff. And he says to the
Corinthians very clearly: "But to the rest speak I, not the
Lord." 1 Cor. 7.12, and again he says elsewhere: "Stand fast
and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by
word or our epistle," 2 Thess. 2:15. Wherefore, the princes
and cities must be admonished to render obedience to
ecclesiastical statutes and constitutions, lest when they
withdraw obedience that is due God, obedience may be
withdrawn also from them by their subjects, as their subjects
attempted in the recent civil insurrection, not to allow
themselves to be seduced by false doctrines. Most false also
is their declaration that the righteousness of faith is
obscured by such ordinances; nay, he is rather mad and insane
who would observe them without faith. For they are given to
believers, and not to Turks or Ishmaelites. "For what have I
to do to judge them that are without?" 1 Cor. 5:12. Moreover,
in extolling here faith above all things they antagonize St.
Paul, as we have said above, and do violence to St. Paul,
whom they pervert to evangelical works when he speaks of
legal works, as all these errors have been above refuted.
False also is it that ecclesiastical ordinances obscure God's
commands, since they prepare man for these, as fasts
suppress the lust of the flesh and help him from falling into
luxury. False also is it that it is impossible to observe
ordinances, for the Church is not a cruel mother who makes no
exceptions in the celebration of festivals and in fasting and
the like. Furthermore, they falsely quote Augustine in reply
to the inquiries of Januarius, who is diametrically opposed
to them. For in this place he most clearly states that what
has been universally delivered by the Church be also
universally observed. But in indifferent things, and those
whose observance and non- observance are free, the holy
father Augustine states that, according to the authority of
St. Ambrose, the custom of each church should be observed.
"When I come back to Rome," he says, "I fast on the Sabbath,
but when here I do not fast." Besides, they do violence to
the Scriptures while they endeavor to support their errors.
For Christ (Matt. 15) does not absolutely disapprove of
human ordinances, but of those only that were opposed to the
law of God, as is clearly acknowledged in Mark 7:8, 9. Here
also Matt. 15:3 says: "Why do ye also transgress the
commandment of God by your tradition?" So Paul (Col. 2)
forbids that any one be judged in meat or in drink, or in
respect to the Sabbath, after the Jewish manner; for when the
Church forbids meats it does not judge them to be unclean, as
the Jews in the Synagogue thought. So the declaration of
Christ concerning that which goeth into the mouth (Matt.
15:11) is cited here without a sure and true understanding
of it, since its intention was to remove the error of the
Jews, who thought that food touched by unwashen hands becomes
unclean, and rendered one eating it unclean, as is manifest
from the context. Nor does the Church bring back to these
observances Moses with his heavy hands. In like manner they
do violence to St. Paul, for 1 Tim. 4:1, 4, he calls that a
doctrine of demons that forbids meats, as the Tatianites,
Marcionites and Manichaeans thought that meats were unclean,
as is clear from the words that follow, when St. Paul adds:
"Every creature of God is good." But the church does not
forbid meats on the ground that they are evil or unclean,
but as an easier way to keep God's commandments; therefore
the opposite arguments fail. If they would preach the cross
and bodily discipline and fasts, that in this way the body be
reduced to subjection, their doctrine would be commendable;
but their desire that these be free is condemned and rejected
as alien to the faith and discipline of the Church. Nor does
the diversity of rites support them, for this is properly
allowed in regard to particular matters, in order that each
individual province may have its own taste satisfied, as
Jerome says; but individual ecclesiastical rites should be
universally observed, and special rites should be observed
each in their own province. Also, they make no mention of
Easter for the Roman pontiffs reduced the Asiatics to a
uniform observance of Easter with the universal Church. In
this way Irenaeus must be understood, for without the loss of
faith some vigils of the apostles were not celebrated with
fasting throughout Gaul, which Germany nevertheless observes
in fasts. The princes and cities must also be admonished to
follow the decision of Pope Gregory, for he enjoins that the
custom of each province be observed if it employs nothing
contrary to the Catholic faith, Canon Quoniam, Distinct. xii.
Hence we are not ignorant that there is a various observance
of dissimilar rites in unity of faith, which should be
observed in every province as it has been delivered and
received from the ancients, without injury, however, to the
universal rites of the entire Catholic Church.
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